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Doughnuts - baked not fried ?

October 18, 2013 - 4:17am

Nici

Doughnuts - baked not fried ?

Hi,

In the summer we visited Swindon (UK) railway museum and at the farmers' market outside ate the most wonderful light, filled , round, doughnuts; which I would like to emulate. I have read lots of the posts here on doughnut making, but I think most end up being fried. Has anyone experimented and succeeded in making a light, yeasted ( not sourdough) doughnut which is baked in the oven, and would you like to share the recipe ?

If you note, the hydration is in the high 60s%, plus fat is added at 44% and sugar at 50% on flour. So it's not for the faint-hearted; I'm sure you'll be fine with it. But you will need to pipe this dough as the recipe suggests, and you will need suitable tins; maybe muffin, or, even Yorkshire pudding tins might work. The high fat and sugar plus relatively high hydration mean the dough will be very soft. You need a good strong flour to support all of this!

I'm just noticing that this particular recipe uses baking powder. There is a yeasted version on the same site [ http://www.foodnetwork.co.uk/recipes/baked-yeast-doughnuts-ru312359.html ], but it is listed in volume measurements which I won't use. So if you want to go with yeast...better option for sure; I suggest fresh yeast @ 5-7% on flour [or instant at 2%], and make a flying ferment [45 mins to 1 hour] with 20% of the flour, all the milk [warmed to 38*C], plus 5% sugar.

I think part of the doughnut experience is that it is fried, hopefully in clean oil. I think that is what gives a fresh doughnut that unique mouthfeel. If you make a doughnut shape and bake it you can still have good pastry but not a doughnut, just my opinion.

I think any yeasted donut recipe should work for you with some minor tweaks in procedure.Just make sure the recipe is, in fact, for yeasted donuts (some indications are that it calls for a relatively low amount of fat and a good bit of kneading).

After rolling and cutting out the donut shapes, place them on the baking sheet to proof for an hour or so before baking (bake at whatever temperature the recipe says the oil should be). To make them look attractive, you can either brush the donuts with an egg wash right before they go into the oven, or you can bake without an egg wash and dust with icing sugar after they come out of the oven.

Thank you Andy, Gerhardt and YY, it was good of you to reply so quickly.

I am going to have a go with Andy's recipe at the Food Network. This is a website I have not used before, so a bonus to have it recommended. I will try it out this weekend, and will report back - even if it is a disaster.

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